Tufting buttonholder



May 18, 1954 l. SABLE ETAL @2,678,514

TUFTING BuTTomoLDER Filed March 25, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet l o 'o o o o l 0% o og 099% 0% io @090 060006oooofooooqloooooooo 'ooowooooojoooo .J 2zj #au la 541// F l G .5

, IN V EN TORS. 2v/N6 5A BLE. Y 4N/ciro R. ws/ rnc/0M ATTORNEY May 18,` 1954 l, SABLE E-rAL 2,678,514

TUFTING BUTTONHOLDER Filed March 23, 1951 3 Sheets$he-et 2 i1 62 i@ 94 uw u' 4 r'mf |In rf@ Faas.

134' 125 lll '1). ff HI; g4

FIGJ. i2 i2 INENToRs. /RV/NG SABLE ATTOENEK May 1s, 1 954 Filed March 23 1951 l. SABLE Er AL 2,678,5114

TUFTING BUTTONHOLDER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENToRs.

l2 VIN G. SABLE. By ANCET R. VISTACION.

ATTORNEY.

Patented May 18, 1954 TUFTING BUTTONHOLDERl Irving Sable and Aniceto R. Visitacion, New York,

N. Y., assignors to Uni que Headboard Company,

Inc., Irvington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 23, 1951, Serial No. 217,106

This invention relates to a tufting machine and to improved tufting button holders used therewith.

'I'he principal object of this invention is the provision of a tufting machine in which individually removable button holders are provided so as to facilitate `and expedite the several operations involved in tufting textile materials, plastic sheeting, leather, artificial leather and the like. The advantages of removable button holders are more apparent in the closing stages of the tufting operation but they provide other advantages which relate to the adaptability of the machine to accommodate tufting buttons of Widely varying dimensions. ,q v

More specically, removable tufting` button holders may be made in many `different sizes so as to accommodate tufting buttons of every possible size. `These tufting button holders are interchangeable, one with the other, irrespective of the dimensions or capacity of their button-gripping or button-clamping members. In all cases the shank portions of these button holders are identical in size and shape so as to t into holes of identical size and shape.

Another principal object of the invention is the `provision of removable and interchangeable tufting button holders for tufting machines. These button holders are provided with square Shanks so that they may be placed in any ilxed position relative to the bed which supports them and the station of the operator of the machine. The button holders herein described and claimed are, in effect, collets which adjustably clamp the tufting buttons in place. Two forms of tufting button holders are shown and described in the present applicationI Both involve the use of split or bifurcated` clamping means which may be compressed or squeezed together to grip the head of the tufting button. Inone case, the bifurcated clamping member is squeezed together by means of a screw which extends transversely thereof. In the second case, the bifurcated clamping member is squeezed together by means of an internally threaded collar or nut which rotates on an axis that coincides with the `longitudinal axis of said bifurcated clampingmember. Said bifurcated clamping member is tapered on the outside and the internally threaded collar engages said taper to cam the bifurcated clamping member into compressed or clamping position.

Another important object of this invention is the provision of an improved tufting button holder which is not removable from the bed or board which supports it. Instead, itis linked up with a locking and releasing'mechanismwhich locks it into clamped position o1" releases it from 1 claim. (Cl. 45-13si clamped position. More particularly, a considerable number of such non-removable button holders are linked up to a single locking and releasing means so that in one operation the entire group of button holders may be locked into clamping position or released therefrom. The principal advantage of this arrangement is the ease and Speed by which a plurality of button holders may be actuated. This is to be distinguished from the principal advantage of the removable button holders which arises from the fact that at the conclusion of the tufting operation they may be lifted off their supporting bed or board, together with the tufted material itself. The tufted material may then be turned upside down and the button holders individually released from the tufting buttons.

Preferred forms of this invention are shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a front view of a tufting machine made in accordance with one form of this invention and using one type of tufting button holder herein claimed.

Fig. 2 is a view looking upwardly in the direction of arrows 2, 2 of Fig. 1, showing the compressing board or ram which compresses the filler of the material being tufted.

Fig. 3 is a view looking downwardly in the direction of arrows 3, 3 of Fig. 1, showing the tufting board.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section through the compressing board or ram.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary section showing the initial step in the tufting operation, to wit, the step of inserting the tufting buttons through the tufting material and supporting said tufting material on the tufting button holders.

Fig. 6 is a similar view showing the next step,

namely, placing the button protectors and tufting material pleaters upon the button holders.

Fig. 7 is still another similar view sho-wing the filling material in place on the tufting material.

Fig. 8 is still another similar view showing the backing material in place on the lling material and also showing the button protectors removed from the button holders.

Fig. 9 shows the ram in engagement 'with the backing material and compressing the filling material to the desired or predetermined extent, and also showing how the ends of one of the tufting buttons are bent over in fastening position.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary face view of the tufted material.

Fig. 1l is a sectional view on the line II-I l of Fig. 6.

` Fig. 12 is a fragmentary view looking downwardly in the direction of arrows I2, I2 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 13 is a side view of one of the tufting button protectors and tufting material pleaters used in the present tufting machine.

Fig. 14 is another side view thereof looking from a vantage point which is 90 removed from the vantage point of the View in Fig. 13.

Fig 15 is a side View of one form of tufting button holder.

Fig. 16 is a bottom View thereof.

Fig. 17 is another side Yview thereof which is 90 removed from the view of Fig. 15.

Fig. 18 is another view of the same button holder, showing it partly in section to expose the screwy clamping means and the button seat which receives and supports the head of the button.

Fig. 19 is a side view of a tufting button holder made in accordance with another form of this invention.

Fig. 20 is a bottom view thereof. Y

Fig. 21 is a vertical section through said second form of button holder, showing the button clamping means, including the seat which receives and supports the button head.

Fig. 22 is a fragmentary view, partly in vertical section, showing another form of tufting button holder, namely the form illustrated in Fig. 1, and also showing the clamping and unclamping means by which a plurality of such buttons may be clamped or unclamped simultaneously by 1 means of a single control lever.

Referring now to the rst four figures of the drawing, it will be seen that the tufting machine which is herein claimedV comprises a frame IU which supports a tufting board I2, a plurality of tufting button holders I4 mounted on said tufting board. and a compressing board or ram I. This ram is connected by means of a spider I8 to a hydraulic press 20 or the like by which Vit isV moved into and out of operative position with respect to the material being tufted. The'tufting machine frame I0 includes four corner posts 22 and it will be noted in- Fig. 2 that compressing board I'G is cut out at its four corners to accommodate said four corner posts which then serve as guide posts to guide the Vertical movements of said compressing board. ToV facilitate these vertical movements, counter-weights 24 and26 are provided to counter-balance the weightv of said compressing board. These weights are connected to the compressing board by means. of cables 28 and 3d, respectively, and it will be noted that pulleys 32 and ill on frame I0 support cable 2.3 and corresponding pulleys 3B and 38 support cable 30.

The tufting button holders I4 are uniformly spaced from each other Yon tufting board I2 as Fig.4 3 clearly shows. It is necessary to provide holes 4I! in the compressing board to accommodate the tufting buttons which said button holders support. See Fig. 4. It is also necessary to strengthen the. compressing board in. order to allow one press to operate it andto uniformly distribute the load. Consequently reinforcing ribs d2 are provided on said compressing board, a

and itvwill be noted. in Fig. 4 that these ribs project upwardly from said board. Reinforcing ribs d2 criss-cross or intersect each other at right anglesY and square recesses 44 are thereby provided above holes dll. These square recesses are sufficiently largeto accommodate the hands of the operators of the machine when the ends of the tufting buttons are being bent over.

Fig. 22 is an enlarged detailed viewV of one of the button. holders I4 aswell as of the control.

mechanism for clamping and unclamping said button holders. It will there be seen that each button holder I4 comprises a tubular member it which is reduced at its lower end 48 to fit into a hole 5Fl in` tufting board I2. Tubular member 48 has an outwardly tapered or ared inner wall at its upper end so as to provide an outwardly flared or enlarged opening at said upper end. Stated differently, the opening which extends Vthrough said tubular member is uniform throughout except at the top where it is enlarged. Slidably mounted in said tubular member is a rod 52 which is bifurcated at its upper end. More specifically, there is a split 5G in the top end of said rod extending downwardly and longitudinally thereof. The split ends at its lower end in an enlarged opening 56 in order to weaken the walls and provide for greater ilexibility. The bifurcated end of rodk 52 tapers outwardly: to increased cross-sectional dimensions to' correspond to the taper of the hole in tubular member te. At the top of the bifurcated end is a seat V58 which' extends across slit V54 and which is adapted to accommodate the head of tufting button 52. 'When rod 52 is pulled downwardly, its tapered, bifurcated end becomes compressed under the camming action of the tapered end of tubular member 46 and the head of the button is thereby grippedV and clamped in its said seat.

The lower end of rod `52 is fastened toa board 64 by means of nuts 66 and 68, respectively. It will be noted that the lower end of said rod is provided with screw threads to accommodate said nuts. Paralleling rod 52 is anotherV rod le which is fixed at its upper end toV titing board I2 by means of anged collar'12 and pin M which iixes said rod to said collar. A cam lt having a ange 'I8 is mounted on rod 'I9 and fixed to board 64 by means of bolts 88 and 82, respectively. There is a'slidefit between rod 'l0 and cam "It so that the cam is free tomove either upwardly orr downwardly on said rod. At the lower end of rod 'I0 is a handle S4 which has a pin Se. projecting into an annular groove 88 formed in said rod 10. The handle is free to rotate on said rod but' it is locked against 'vertical movement rela tive thereto. The handle is provided with a second pin 90 which projectsinto a cam groove :i2 formed in said cam 16. When the handle is turned in one direction, it causesY camfl to move upwardly on rod 'llland when it is turned in the opposite direction, it causes said cam to move downwardlyv on said rod. Since the cam is iixed to board 64 and since a plurality of rods 52 are also iixedto said board, the effect of moving the handle is to cause said board and said rods to move. either upwardly or downwardly and'tliereby to open or close the clamping means at the topy of each rod. It will' be noted in Fig. 1 that board 64 isV only one of three similar boards, the other two being identified as boards 54a and Silo, respectively.

In Figs.V 15 to 18' inclusive, a tufting button holder 94 is shown which may be removably mounted in a tufting board corresponding to tufting board I2. Y Button holder 94 comprises a bifurcated clamping member @Shaving a button seat 98 at its upper end, and a square shank HES Y which extends downwardly from said bifurcated transversely thereof, and it is in screw-threaded engagement with one of the segments of said bifurcated member. `The opposite end of the screw is headed over and provided with an actuating arm |08. When the screw is turned in one direction by means of said handle, it tends to pull or squeeze the bifurcated member together and thereby to clamp the head in place, and when the screw is turned in the opposite direction by means of the same handle, it tends to release the bifurcated member to the extent of allowing it to spring back to its pre-clamping position, thereby releasing the button.

Shank is square and the hole in the tufting board which receives it is correspondingly square. Hence the button holder will be unable to turn or otherwise change its position relative to the tufting board once it is inserted therein. It will thus be possible to insert a plurality of such button holders into a common tufting board with all of their operating handles occupying similar relative positions so as to facilitate their manipulation. Similarly, the bifurcated portion of each button holder is also square in cross-sectional shape. See Fig. 16. There is a good reason for this, as will clearly appear from Figs. 6 and 10. In the operation of the present device, a plurality of button holders 94 are mounted on a common tufting board He. A plurality of tufting buttons 62 are then inserted into said button holders and clamped in place therein. The tufting material H2 is then mounted on said buttons in the following manner: It will be seen in Fig. 11 that the tufting material has a plurality of button receiving holes I4 formed therein and reinforcing members I5 aiiixed thereto in the area surrounding said holes. The holes are formed in predetermined spaced relationship, being farther apart from each other than the buttons are from one another. The tufting material is then mounted on the buttons by simply slipping the bifurcated shanks of the buttons into said preformed holes and the tufting material is then brought downwardly until it rests upon the button holders. Since the holes in said tufting material are spaced farther apart from each other than the buttons are spaced from one another, said tufting material will tend to sag in the spaces between the buttons as Fig. 5 clearly shows. that tufting button protectors ||8 are placed over the tufting buttons and secured to the button holders.

Each button protector comprises a pair of pivotally connected members and |22, respectively. The upper ends of the two members are bent inwardly toward each other so as to engage each other at their very top ends. Member |20 is provided at its top end with a pair of spaced lugs |24 which receive the top end of member |22 between them and prevent disengagement between the top ends of the two members. The bends in said members |29 and |22 are situated intermediate rivets |26 which constitute the pivotal connection between said members, and the top ends thereof. Hence, the two members |28 and |22 are maintained under constant tension which tends to push their lower ends toward each other. Each of the two members |20 and |22 is provided at its lower end with a pair of spaced, downwardly extending legs |28 having outwardly extending feet |36) formed at the bottom thereof. When the button protector is placed over the button, its four legs |28 engage the four flat sides of the button holder and the four spaces between It is at this time 6 said legs receive the four corners of said button holder. Consequently, the position of the button protector may be controlled by controlling the position of the button holder.

When the button protector is placed over the button following the operation of mounting the tufting material thereon, the slits between the legs of the button protector tend to pleat the tufting material and to form the pleats |32 which are shown in Fig. 10. Since the relative positions of the button holders and the button protectors are always predetermined and under control, the lines on which pleats |32 are formed. will also be predetermined and the pleats will always intersect each other at right angles. The next step in the tufting operation is to place the cotton ller or batting |34 on the tufting material and the step after that is to place a layer |36 of palm ber or hair on the cotton batting. The button protectors are then removed and a backing material |38 is then placed upon layer |36, the pointed ends of the buttons projecting through said backing material. See Fig. 8. The next step is to bring compressing board I6 down upon the backing material to compress the two layers of filling material. The ends of the buttons will project through holes 4H in said compressing board as Fig. 9 clearly shows. Retaining rings 4@ are then slipped over the upwardly projecting ends of the buttons and said upwardly projecting ends are then bent over in conventional manner as Figs. 9 and 12 clearly show. The compressing board is then lifted away from the tufted material and the tufting operation is complete. All that remains to be done is to remove the button holders from the buttons and this can be done by simply lifting the tufted material, together with said button holders, off the tufting board and then turning it upside down so that the button holders project upwardly. The button holders may then be individually unclamped from the buttons and reinserted into the tufting board for the next tufting operation.

The modification shown in Figs. 19, 20 and 21 differs from the button holder last above described only in the means for compressing its bifurcated end. More specifically, button holder |42 has a square shank |44 which projects downwardly, an intermediate portion |46 which is provided with external screw threads, and an upper bifurcated portion |48. The bifurcated portion 48 dares outwardly and upwardly and its slit |5 extends longitudinally thereof and terminates at its lower end in a transverse opening |52. A seat |54 is formed in the top end of said bifurcated portion to receive the head of a tufting button and said seat extends across said slit 50. A collar |56 which is internally threaded at its lower end is mounted on the threaded intermediate portion |48 and it projects upwardly into engagement with the outwardly flared sides of the bifurcated portion |48. When the collar |56 is turned in one direction, it moves downwardly on threaded intermediate portion |46 and tends to release the bifurcated upper portion. When said collar is turned in the opposite direction it tends to move upwardly and to engage and squeeze the bifurcated portion together, thereby locking the head of the tufting button in seat |54. Button holder |42 is used in substantially the same manner as button holder 94 above described.

The foregoing is descriptive of preferred forms of this invention. These forms may be modied and other forms may be provided within the broad scope and coverage of the invention.

Having thus described,y our invention, what-we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A tufting button holder comprising a vertically bifureated body member, a button seat at the top of said bifurcated body member, a. shank at the bottom of said bifurcatzed body member, a transverse screw in said bifurcated body member which positively clamps the same together, the screw being lprovided with a head and with an actuating arm connected to Said head, said screw being in threaded engagement with one side of said bifurcated member, the head of said screw being in engagement with the other side of said bifurcated member,l whereby turning said screw by means of said arm in onev direction draws the two sides. of the bifureated member together, and

8; whereby tumble seid screw by means of said arm in the opposite direction releases the sides 0f said bifurcatedA member, said bifnroated body member and. the shank being rectangular in cross 5 section.

References, cited in the fue Orchis, patent UNITED STATES PATENTS m Number Name Date 690,206 Talge et a1. Dec. 3 1, 1901 704,501 Boller Juiy 15, 1902 842,177 Cushman Jan. 29, 1907 960,074 Buser` May 31, 1910 15 987,051 Cushman Mar. 14, 1911 993,657 Deirnel May 30, 1911 1,424,587 Perry Aug.Y l, 1922 

